HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 21 2015 Board Meeting MinutesNew Hanover County ABC Board
Meeting Minutes
April 21, 2015
I. Call to order
Chairman Cedric Dickerson called to order the regular meeting of the New Hanover County
Alcoholic Beverage Control Board at 8;30am on April 21, 2015 at the General Office, 6009 Market
Street, Wilmington, NC.
II. Roll call
Carol Martin, Board Secretary, conducted a roll call. The following Members of the Board were
present:
Cedric Dickerson, Chairman
Robert W. Martenis, Vice Chairman
Thomas Wolfe, Member
Augustus C. Everett, Jr., Member
William A. Kopp, Jr., Member
Others in attendance were:
Dan Sykes, Chief Executive Officer
Gary Cain, Retail and LBD Operations Manager
Carol Martin, Board Secretary
Wanda Copley, Legal Counsel
Avril Pinder, Ex- Officio Member
Benjamin R. David, District Attorney
Ann Ansley, Assistant District Attorney
Steven Crall, Victim/Witness Legal Assistant & Program Coordinator for Underage Drinking Deferred Prosecution and Prevention Program
Rita Mole, ABC Vacation/Relief Manager
Det. Joe Jewell, NHC Sheriff's Department
Taylor B. Simms, LS3P Associates, LTD Senior Associate & Project Manager
III.AUnroval of minutes from last meeting
Mr. Dickerson presented the minutes from the last Regular Meeting (both the open and closed
session minutes) of March 17, 2015, and the minutes from the April 2, 2015 Special Retreat
Meeting. Mr. Kopp made the motion to approve all of the minutes as written. Mr. Martenis
seconded the motion, and all approved.
IV. Conflict of Interest Reminder
Mr. Dickerson verbally confirmed that the Board members had read the following ethics
reminder:
"In accordance with General Statute 18B -201, it is the dirty of every Board member to avoid
both conflicts of interest and appearances of conflicts. Does any member have any known
conflict of interest or appearance of conflict with respect to any matters coming before the
Board today? If so, please identify the conflict or appearance of conflict and refrainfrom
any undueparticipation in theparticular matter involved. "
Let it be recorded that no conflicts were identified by any Board member regarding this Board meeting.
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V. AUUrryal of rgUosed agenda
Mr. Martenis made the motion to accept the proposed meeting agenda as written, with the addition
of item 3.f., LBD Carts - "U- Boats ", integrating D.A. David's presentation just after the Local
Alcohol Law Enforcement Report, and Ms. Simms' presentation after D.A. David's. Mr. Wolfe
seconded the motion, and all approved.
VI.Em12LUee Recognition
Mr. Sykes introduced Ms. Mole to the Board. Mr. Sykes stated that Ms. Mole has been with the
Board since May of 2011, was promoted to Vacation /Relief Manager in January of 2015, and
consistently receives "Exceeds Expectations" performance review ratings.
VII. Administrative Reports
A. ABC Law Enforcement O f f i c e r s ' Unit Monthly (ALE) Report for March was presented by
Det. Jewell. Officers performed the following activities for the month of March, 2015:
*619 Store Visits
*328 Bank Deposits
* 10 Change Deposits
*65 Charges
*37 Arrests
* 14 Searches (Consent or Probable Cause)
*Cited 24 "Underage Possession" ABC Law Violations
*Cited 16 "Unauthorized Possession" ABC Law Violations
*Cited 17 "Other Alcohol" ABC Law Violations
*Cited 2 "Possession" Controlled- Substance Violations
*Cited 1 "Paraphernalia" Controlled - Substance Violations
*Cited 8'Traffic" Other Offenses
*Cited 18 "Criminal" Other Offenses
*Logged 1 "Other Presentations" Alcohol Education
*Assisted 3 8 ABC Law Agencies
*Assisted 9 Controlled Substance Agencies
*Assisted 9 "Other" Agencies
*Performed 45 Business Inspections
*Reported 2 Violations Submitted
*Performed 72 Business Compliance Checks
*Completed 31 Training Hours
Det. Jewell noted that D.J. Hales, special agent in charge of the ALE district office in Jacksonville
(formerly in Wilmington), thanked the Board for allowing them to host a briefing area in the new
headquarters building during the busy Azalea Festival weekend.
B. District Attorney Ben David apprised the Board that his office's nine year Governor's Crime
Commission Grant is expiring at the end of this fiscal year. He would like to maintain the
momentum of his Underage Drinking Deferred Prosecution and Prevention Program efforts by
retaining Ms. Ansley as its dedicated prosecutor. This would be a "non- recurring one -year
commitment" he would ask of the Board financially. After Board discussion, D.A. David said that
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he would follow up with a spreadsheet detailing the finite amount he is requesting to absorb Ms.
Ansley's salary and benefits for one year. No motions were made. D.A. David indicated that he
would like to come before the Board at another meeting to answer anything further, to help base the
Board's decision. He also invited the Board members to attend his series of BARS training —to
provide information to help bars be compliant with the laws pertaining to the sale of alcohol.
C. Regarding the 17t"/Castle Street Facility, Ms. Simms presented the Board with the results of the
State of North Carolina – Prequalification Ratings Matrix for Single Prime Contractors for the
Project Name: Facility Renovations for New Hanover County ABC Board. The recap states all
scored 80 and above will be prequalified. Three prime contractors met the prequalification:
Monteith Construction Corp, Wilmington, NC
Bordeaux Construction Co., Inc. Durham, NC
Thomas Construction Group, Wilmington, NC
Ms. Simms stated that bids will be opened on May 27, 2015 at 3pm at the new complex, 6009
Market Street. LS3P's Elliott O'Neal will accept the bids and open publicly in front of the three
bidders. Mr. Martenis and others will review the bid packages on May 28, 2015 at 3pm at the LS3P
offices, 2528 Independence Boulevard, Suite 200, Wilmington, NC. Mr. Martenis made the motion
to accept the three prequalified vendors, Mr. Kopp seconded and all approved.
Mr. Sykes apprised the Board that the City of Wilmington Planning Department has the project
scheduled for a Technical Review meeting for 9:30am April 23, 2015. Mr. Sykes, Mr. Martenis and
Mr. Kopp plan to attend.
D. Mr. Sykes presented the Board with Financial Statements for March, 2015. Mr. Sykes reported
for March, the Actual -to- Budget comparison showed Gross Sales better than projected by
$98k (3.45 %), Operating Expenses greater than budget by $ I 1 k (3.00 %), and Income from
Operations better than budget by $42k (11.97 %). Year to date, Gross Profits were more than
projected by about $537k (7.83 %), and "Change in Net Position before Profit Distributions" had a
positive variance of $849k (57.24 %). Profit Distributions for the quarter ended were included in
the financial statements. These are distributed before the last day of the following month.
E. Mr. Sykes presented the Board with his Financial Projections thru Year -End (as of 411512015) for
discussion purposes. Actual financial figures are shown for the fiscal year's first three completed
quarters, and budgeted financial figures are shown for the fourth quarter. Based on the current year
end projections it appears that Gross Sales will exceed the budget by over $753k, and that Operating
Income should be better than budget by over $878k.
F. Mr. Sykes presented the Board with one (1) update:
The Board will have its 80`x' Anniversary this summer. New Hanover County ABC stores were
voted -in July 2, 1935 (Session Law 1935 -418), and the first retail sales occurred on August 3, 1935.
VIII. New Business
A. Mr. Sykes apprised the Board that the current Housekeeping Agreement for the ABC Complex is
due to expire May 31, 2015. Ms. Karen King obtained three qualified proposals for the cleaning
service and prices ranged from $5,400 to $5,880 annually based on 24 cleanings. Mr. Kopp made
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the motion to authorize the Chair/Vice Chair to execute the appropriate documents for
Housekeeping Services for 6009 Market Street for an amount not to exceed $6,000 annually for the
period June 1, 2015 -May 31, 2016. Mr. Martenis seconded the motion, and all approved.
B. Mr. Sykes informed the Board that the NC ABC Commission would like to renew its lease for
Room 23 in the 6009 Market Street ABC Complex building. Mr. Kopp made the motion to renew
the ABC Commission's lease on a month -to -month basis with a 60 day written termination notice
at a rate of $100 per month. Mr. Everett seconded the motion and all approved.
C. Mr. Sykes presented the Board with a proposed Training Policy. Tile policy covers both mandatory
and non - mandatory training/education. Harassment Training will be mandatory for all employees,
and requires successful completion of a refresher course within an every- two -year- period. Mr.
Martenis made the motion to approve the Training Policy as written. Mr. Kopp seconded the
motion, and all approved.
D. Mr. Sykes proposed a modification to the Board's "Weapons in the Workplace" (NHC ABC
Policies & Procedures, Article IV, paragraph 19) policy. Policy modification was necessary to
clarify the definition of "Board property ", insert language regarding concealed carry, and to
authorize the CEO to grant written consent to persons to carry a weapon on the property. Mr. Kopp
made the motion to modify the "Weapons in the Workplace" policy as presented. Mr. Wolfe
seconded the motion and all approved.
E. Mr. Sykes apprised the Board that the New Hanover County Travel Policy has changed
(Memorandum No. 15 -0044, issued March 31, 2105). The policy applies to all County employees,
volunteers, interns, Fellows, and appointed boards. The NC ABC Commission, per G.S. 18B-
700(g2) states, "...the local board shall annually provide the appointing authority's written
confirmation of such approval to the Commission and a copy of the travel policy authorized by the
appointing authority" requires all ABC Boards obtain approval of their travel policyfrom their
appointing authority annually. Furthermore, G.S. 18B- 700(g2) requires the appointing authority to
approve the adopting of their travel policy (versus, in our case ... the State's policy) annually. This
approval must be obtained at the beginning of each fiscal year. Mr. Wolfe made the motion to
accept the Board's revised Travel Policy as written (it mirrors the County policy closely), to
become effective upon approval by the Board of County Commissioners. Mr. Kopp seconded the
motion, and all approved.
F. Mr. Sykes proposed revisions to the Board's Procurement Policy. Specifically, paragraph 7.2,
"Emergency Purchases" was added to determine who has authorization, for what maximum dollar
amounts, in an emergency purchase scenario. Mr. Kopp made the motion to accept the revised
Procurement Policy as presented, with one change; For Estimated Cost over S10,000 in lieu of the
Chair convening an emergency meeting of the Board for a vote, the Chair contacts a majority of
the Board for approval and any action taken will be ratified in the next regular meeting. Mr.
Wolfe seconded the motion and all approved.
G. Mr. Sykes presented the Board with the "First Pass" of the Proposed Fiscal Year 2015 -2016 Budget
Worksheet with written narrative information used in his budget calculations. The Board generally
agreed on the key assumptions, and no motions were made.
H. Mr. Sykes presented the Board with a letter from Mr. Cain regarding the need for ten additional
LBD "U- Boat" Carts because of the merging of LBD stores during renovation. Mr. Cain acquired
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quotes from three qualified vendors, and recommended purchasing the carts from Grainger. Mr.
Martenis made the motion to authorize the Chair /Vice Chair to purchase 10 LBD "U- Boat " carts
for an amount not to exceed $2,500 inclusive of sales tax and shipping. Mr. Wolfe seconded the
motion, and all approved.
Mr. Kopp made the motion to request a two month terra extension for Mr. Dickerson, as Mr. Sykes
will be retiring on June 30, 2015 and a potential disruption can be averted with Board continuity.
Mr. Dickerson obliged. Mr. Martenis seconded the motion, and all approved. Vice Chair Mr.
Martenis will write the Board's appointing authority, the New Hanover Board of County
Commissioners, to request approval of this term extension.
J. Asked, Mr. Dickerson stated that regarding the new CEO search, forty -seven applied, eleven were
extended telephone interviews, and five finalists are scheduled for face to face interviews on
Friday, April 24, 2015 and Tuesday, April 28, 2015.
III. Adjottrnment
Mr. Martenis made the motion to adjourn the meeting; Mr. Kopp seconded the notion, and all approved.
i
Minutes submitted by: CjYI.0- �;
Carol F. Martin, Secretary
Minutes approved by: -µ
Cedric Dickerson, Chairman